Chapter Forty-Two: Shattering the Arm!

Rolling up his sleeves, Su Yi revealed an arm as pale as a newborn child’s, the skin so white it gave off an air of frailty. Those watching nearby couldn’t help but shake their heads in secret—such a slender, untrained arm looked so delicate that even they considered themselves stronger. How could someone like that possibly muster any strength?

Meiya, too, was surprised by the fairness of Su Yi’s skin, and an involuntary pang of jealousy rose in her heart: This boy… is his skin actually fairer than mine?

Not far away, Di Yuan had initially seen Su Yi’s choice of an arm-wrestling match as a sign of weakness and now, catching sight of Su Yi’s limp, pale arm, his scorn only deepened—what a useless brat, good for nothing but eating!

Aoben Yu looked at Su Yi’s right arm, which stood in stark contrast to his own robust limb, and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. With a sneer, he leaned in and whispered to Su Yi, “Su Yi, your arm’s so pale—have you been living off some rich woman lately?”

“Oh?” Su Yi raised an eyebrow and replied quietly, “Are you suggesting I’ve been keeping company with Miss Meiya?”

“Bastard!”

Aoben Yu was seething, cursing inwardly. This damn guy was bringing up Meiya again. If I don’t teach him a lesson, I’m not Aoben Yu!

Noticing Aoben Yu’s sudden shift in expression, the quiver of his lips as if silently swearing, Su Yi instead thought the man ought to count himself lucky. For some reason, the dark soul within him had not surged with its usual violent intent; all the cold hostility directed at Aoben Yu now was entirely—his own.

To ensure fairness, they called upon a random passerby to act as referee. Once both parties were in position, the contest was set to begin.

Aoben Yu’s lips curled into a savage grin as he looked at Su Yi, already savoring the moment of his imminent victory. Humph! Su Yi, do you still think you’re the prodigy who once overshadowed me? No! You’re nothing now!

A quick, close inspection confirmed to Aoben Yu that Su Yi held not a trace of battle aura. Certain of his triumph, a cruel glint flashed in Aoben Yu’s eyes as he leaned in and hissed, “Useless wretch, I’ll break your arm and ruin you for good!”

Su Yi was briefly taken aback but then smiled, showing a set of gleaming white teeth. “That’s not a bad idea.”

The sight of those bright, cold teeth sent an inexplicable chill through Aoben Yu. He shook his head to dispel the absurd feeling.

The referee saw both men had clenched their fists, wrists locked together and ready. He pressed their fists to an even height and began the count.

At once, silence descended. Though everyone expected the outcome, they still watched with wide eyes, breathless, a tense atmosphere settling over the crowd.

“One—two—three, begin!”

The moment the referee finished speaking, Aoben Yu exploded with strength, driving his right elbow forward to force Su Yi’s hand down.

Su Yi’s eyes flashed, his face adopting an expression of desperate effort. To the onlookers, the two arms wavered back and forth around the center line, seemingly evenly matched.

A hint of surprise flickered across Aoben Yu’s face. Though he hadn’t used his full strength, he hadn’t expected Su Yi to hold out. He sneered to himself—struggle all you want, Su Yi, you’ll never be my equal!

Aoben Yu was already plotting when to unleash his full might, perhaps even secretly channeling battle aura to smash Su Yi’s arm onto the stone table and shatter his bones.

Just as he was considering this, Aoben Yu suddenly felt the resistance in front of him vanish—his arm met only empty air. His muscles reflexively relaxed, and in that instant, a powerful force surged back, nearly pinning his arm flat to the table. He almost lost outright!

“Su Yi! You—you’re cheating!” Aoben Yu shouted in anger as realization dawned.

It turned out that during their apparent stalemate, Su Yi had suddenly released his strength, then burst forth again unexpectedly, catching Aoben Yu off guard—a tactic that could, at times, turn the tables in arm wrestling.

Su Yi paid Aoben Yu’s accusation no mind, chuckling, “You’re a fifth-rank fighter, and I’m not even a fighter at all. Of course I need a few tricks. If you think it’s unfair, you’re welcome to try some tricks yourself.”

“I—” Aoben Yu choked on his words. He had entered this match with overwhelming confidence, determined to crush his opponent with absolute power. If he resorted to such tricks, even if he won, he would be despised by all.

Furious, Aoben Yu’s eyes flashed coldly. He tensed the muscles of his right arm and unleashed all his strength, holding firm. Quietly, he began to infuse his right hand’s meridians with streams of battle aura, preparing to amass enough power to crush Su Yi’s arm in one decisive blow.

Intent on delivering a crippling strike, Aoben Yu did not retaliate immediately. Instead, he covertly gathered his strength, waiting for the perfect moment. When the power was ready, he steeled himself for action.

But just as Aoben Yu was about to strike, Su Yi repeated his earlier trick—suddenly withdrawing his strength!

Aoben Yu, poised to unleash his full might, suddenly found no resistance in front of him. It was like stepping into thin air—his power dissipated. It seemed as though he’d forced Su Yi’s wrist down, but in reality, he hadn’t even touched it.

Startled, Aoben Yu, somewhat prepared, resolved to go all out. He would channel his battle aura and, taking advantage of the situation, smash Su Yi’s hand hard onto the stone table! But just then, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a chilling smile on Su Yi’s lips.

An overwhelming force surged from Su Yi’s hand, giving Aoben Yu no chance to resist. Before he could react, a searing pain shot through his right elbow—it had been slammed violently onto the table!

“Ah—!”

With a howl of agony, everyone saw Aoben Yu’s entire right elbow smashed deep into the unyielding stone table! His elbow sunk in, splitting the stone with a deep crack, fragments jutting out where the stone had been crushed, fissures spiderwebbing outward in all directions.

Aoben Yu’s arm was twisted at a grotesque angle, blood seeping out, pooling on the dark tabletop. He was so overcome by agony that his consciousness blurred—he was nearly fainting.

The onlookers, seeing Aoben Yu writhing in pain, his ruined arm spasming, fell into an even deeper silence. All around, eyes widened, mouths agape, unable to believe what they had witnessed.

Just moments before, the two had seemed locked in a stalemate, arms swaying rapidly. Before anyone’s eyes could keep up, it was as if they’d been struck by a hallucination—Aoben Yu’s arm was suddenly embedded in the stone, the sound of the impact still ringing in their ears, followed by his scream of pain.

Everything happened in a flash. Before anyone could react, it was over.

The bizarre, shocking scene left everyone dumbstruck. No one spoke until, roused by Aoben Yu’s groans, one of his attendants rushed forward to support his young master, his anguished cry shattering the silence.

“Su Yi, how dare you cheat and injure Young Master Yu!”

Su Yi calmly adjusted his sleeve and stood up, smiling gently. “I don’t even know how to wield battle aura. What tricks could I possibly use? It was merely a matter of superior strength—that’s all. If not for Aoben Yu’s broad-minded generosity in letting me win, how could I possibly have defeated him?”

“You—” The attendant was so furious he could barely speak. He knew Su Yi must have done something, but had no idea how—and could not understand how, with his young master’s strength and skill, he could have lost. But saving his master was more urgent. With a venomous glare at Su Yi, he spat, “This won’t be the end of it. Just you wait!”

“Let’s go!”

Afraid to hurt Aoben Yu’s arm further, the attendants dared not handle him directly. Instead, they lifted him together with the table and carried him away. Watching their retreating, embarrassed figures, the crowd rubbed their eyes as if waking from a dream, finally accepting what had happened. Their gazes turned to Su Yi, now filled with disbelief, shock, confusion, and—a faint, barely perceptible trace of fear.

They didn’t know exactly how it had happened, but the bloody result was plain to see. A chill crept into every heart.

(Second update! Please vote and support!)

Martial Peak, Chapter 42: Arm Shattered! Update complete!